Why would Jesus ask, "Who touched Me?" especially fn. Jesus had simply sailed across the Lake of Galilee to the region of the Gerasenes. The Politics of Luke 8:26-39. When the pigs were sent into the sea, the people of Gadara lost money. Treasury of Scripture. There was no such danger in Perea, and thus the mercy of the Lord was to be heralded. The people of Gerasenes were willing to live with the devils they knew - quite literally. French Monastery Survives War and Famine After 885 Years, the Basilica of St. Ambrose in Milan, and More Great Links! The best known Gerasa was a Greek city nearly forty miles southeast of the lake (modern village of Khersa, on the east shore of the lake. By clicking Post Your Answer, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. From this point on, Jesus began to speak to the crowds in parables in order to veil or conceal the gospel from those who had blasphemed the Holy Spirit (Mark 4:lff). He could just as easily commanded them to return to the deepest, darkest pit of Hell. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighbourhood. Dave Armstrong Dave Armstrong is a full-time Catholic author and apologist, who has been actively proclaiming and defending Christianity since 1981. . December 2016 The whole story is a myth. And, Gerasene was one. 184-185. The choice is to be free by submission to Christ (cf. Was there some sort of unwritten rule that Darrow (or any non-Bellona) was supposed to throw the fight? Putting all of these factors together the term demon-possessed inplies too much. The nearby townspeople, upon hearing of the great miracle (and not wanting to suffer further economic loss), begged Christ to leave the Gadarenes and never come back! Bill Maher says he's scared of former President Trump "on a very personal level" and "what he would do" to the comedian if he were to win the 2024 White House race. May 2021 Why is that. Also, frequently associated with demon possession was a super-human strength (cf. The expression to be with Jesus is used particularly of His disciples (cf. Exercising authority in the land allocated to Abraham, for Israel, the land set aside for God and his people. The ego is so impaired that the spirits speak through him. Although Gadarenes and Gergesenes are derived from a different Greek word, they are essentially referring to the same area. The exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac (Matthew 8.28-34; Mark 5.1-20; Luke 8.26-39), frequently known as the Miracle of the (Gadarene) Swine and the exorcism of Legion, is one of the miracles performed by Jesus according to the New Testament. Just imagine, a man in a cinema, having bought popcorn and cola and watching an action movie, with a lot of violence and harsh language in it, and then he sees suddenly that a saintly bishop is sitting just next to his seat, not watching the movie, but reading silently psalms with a countenance radiating a deep contemplation; will not the first man be upset and lose all pleasure of watching the movie? man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 'Return home and tell how much God has done for you.' So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus (Luke 8:26-39, NIV) Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighbourhood. To the evildoer, anonymity is always preferable to identification. Satans most useful instrument is the outstanding, outwardly moral and upright religious man, whose good deeds are done independently of God. Confusion, fear in moments after crash "There were many big pieces of steel," said Vassilis Polyzos, a local resident who said he was one of the first people on the scene. The story shows Jesus exorcising a demon or demons out of a man and into a herd of swine, causing the swine to run down a hill into a lake and drown . He had only known Jesus for a few hours, but had already determined to be Jesus' disciple for life. The Gospels use different names for the place where this occurred: This is supposedly a contradiction. Gerasa is (as we know) some 30-35 miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee, but may have also been the name of the larger region. Luke 8:37Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them: for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again. So much pain, so much sin. Lets face it, we all like to be in control. We are seeking a replacement and hope to have it in your newspaper soon. April 2016 Jesus had been performing miracles in Gods nation - Israel. xvi. where something similar occurs) is a demon-possession mentioned, and that outside the Gospels it is referred to only twice in the New Testament (Acts xvi. Even as the purpose of Roman legions was to enforce the will of the emperor, the goal of the multiple evil spirits was to carry out the devil's will of bringing pain, destruction and chaos to humans! If Jesus had that kind of power, then He could not be controlled. Just as demons desire to possess persons through whom they can exhibit their personalities, so the Spirit of God indwells man, imparting new life, and progressively gaining control so that the character of God is exhibited, but not in such a way as to hinder our individuality and identity. (4) Our Lord did not command the demons to enter into the pigs and bring about their destruction; He only permitted it.124. One is that he was a fascinating man. Though Legion bowed before Jesus (verse 6), it was no act of worship (as the King James Version would seem to indicate). It is now called Jerash and is a deserted ruin. In any event, I love defending the Bible and Christianity. Similar to the storm we see in the book of Job that killed Jobs sons - and Satan was the instigator of that as well. Hence it would be called the land of the Gadarenes.. Jesus asked Mary why she was crying at the grave site. First of all the Scriptures do not say that the local Pagans were afraid of Jesus, but that they merely begged him to leave their neighbourhood. For many Christians today, the horrifying experience of Legion should be sufficient testimony of the reality of the Satanic underworld. Christians are to be a "safe" people - an expression of that love of God so people who do not know Him can be drawn to the Truth. Luke seems to base this fear solely upon what happened to the demoniac, not on the loss of their pigs. Father Macaire, 33, who was ordained fewer than two years ago, was kidnapped the morning of Feb. 7 when he was on his way to his missionary community in Kazal, about 20 miles north of Port-au-Prince. How do I connect these two faces together? 35Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. He was also humorous in his answers. This name (Strong's #G3003) is a reference to a Roman military regiment that varied in soldier strength from 4,000 to 6,000. But, the context is not going to be comfortable (accepted by) to some traditional understandings. I will not look for a reason to return to it. What did Jesus do? Gergesenes means "those who come from pilgrimage or fight.". My office mate of several years back was interrupted by a young and very zealous new Christian teacher accompanied by a student from whom she wanted my friend to cast out a demon. The demoniac was uncontrollable by any of the normal means of human confinement. He obviously attracted crowds. The reference could hardly be to the better known Gerasa (Jerash) between thirty and forty miles southeast from the lake. Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. In Galilee and Judea there were Messianic hopes which would have been quickly fanned into flames if the miracles of Jesus were too widely publicized. Events that are important to our Church Community, Mark 5:1-20 Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac. Now' as to the pigs (an unclean animal, so you know Jesus wasnt in Israel! Or they are too afraid of what the change might bring. They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. They have three sons and a daughter (all homeschooled) and reside in southeast Michigan. It would seem that these people had no Messianic expectations, and therefore wanted nothing to do with One Who had such awesome power, a power over which they had no control. The most likely answer is to the country of the Gerasenes: i.e., Gerasa, a Greek town thought to be the same as the similarly-named Kersa on the east shore of Lake Tiberias. The lectionary reading for Trinity 1, Year C, is Luke's version of Jesus meeting and healing the demon-possessed man in the 'region of the Gerasenes' (Luke 8.26-39). The spread of cholera was linked to the movements of . The scene which Mark presents is deliberately dark. These, however, are not the problem raised by Bible students. April 2015 In this account we, by inference, learn much about the demonic spirits. Another reason they may have been afraid of Jesus was the realization that if they accepted Him, it would mean a radical change of lifestyle. EWTN News, Inc. is the worlds largest Catholic news organization, comprised of television, radio, Does a barbarian benefit from the fast movement ability while wearing medium armor? in a crowd in a crowd where many people were bumping into Him? . No one was strong enough to subdue him (verses 3,4). Who was afraid of Jesus and why? 1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. How ironic, as others have noted, that the tormentor pleads not to be tormented. November 2020 I think the coup de grce is to look up the Greek word for country in these passages, to see what latitude of meaning it has. Matthew 9:2-8 Why was "This man is blaspheming" considered an evil thought without knowing Jesus' identity? The fear of the unknown, the uncontrollableof change. (6) Tendency towards self-destruction. In this story, we have a demon-possessed Gadarene who saw Jesus from a distance, and immediately he appeared to have felt a strong compulsion to run up to Jesus and bow down before him. e.g., Matt. We will examine two incidents -- the stilling of the storm on the sea of Galilee, and that which follows immediately, the healing of the demoniac. The man, who was naked when he saw Jesus, had the added ability of enduring both freezing and sweltering temperatures as well as pain he inflicted upon himself! By His power, we, too, are able to overcome Satans treacheries. 113 According to the Talmud there were four characteristics of madness: walking abroad at night; spending the night on a grave; tearing ones clothes and destroying what one was given. Sign up for 6 Free IssuesTry us out with a free trial subscription. In contrast, the people of Gerasene are asking him to leave their place. ESV - 1) He Exposes Evil (v 28-30) . Gergesenes is also in some manuscripts (Khersa or Gersa was a town actually on the shore of the sea). To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. In other words, Jesus had caused a loss to them of 2,000 swine already; what else would His presence cost? They likely were Gentiles and had been under the influence of the demonic principality of the region their whole life. Such was the case with this man (cf. Jesus had just performed an incredible miracleand one they desperately needed, at that! (2) Pork was a food forbidden to Jews, and as such, those who raised these pigs may have done so knowingly in violation of divine injunction. We read at Mk 5:14-17 (NRSVCE), the immediate after-effects of the driving out of evil spirits by Jesus at Gerasene by allowing them to enter pigs: The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 17, pp. 115 While Mark and Luke describe only one demoniac, Matthew informs us that there were two. 28); Mark the country of the Gerasenes (v. 1), and Luke, probably, the country of the Gergesenes (viii. Instantly he recognized the Lord Jesus to be the Son of God (verse 7).116 There was a source of spiritual insight beyond human capabilities here. Sermon for July 26, 2020: Why Were They So Afraid: Mark 5:1-20. The demoniacs frightened the swine, and the transfer of demons from them to the swine was imagined. when He was the only One Who truly knew what had happened. Jesus was saying, (demonstrating) that He had all authority, in any land. The people who witnessed this are . vi. xii. His greatest impact would be on those who knew his former state. Ridiculous? Earles comments are helpful: The difference in names for the destination on the east side of the take has caused considerable comment. What sort of strategies would a medieval military use against a fantasy giant? To date they have failed to respond in any way. COMMENTARY: Atheism is generally the expression of a moral attitude more than a real intellectual conviction based on evidence thought through. August 2015 Thayers Greek Lexicon defines it as the space lying between two places or limits region or country. The Sea of Galilee was clearly one of the limits. Norval Geldenhuys, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1951), p. 174. Textual variations have compounded the problem. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.110. Those who had seen it told them how the man who had been demon-possessed had been healed. This incident in the Gerasenes requires some entry understanding. Such must have been the response of those with our Lord. July 2018 No! She is a graduate of the Divinity School at Wake Forest University and Chicago Theological Seminary. Here in Mark, he purposely set out to travel into another land. February 2017 This would also give time afterwards for the dispersion, not only into the city, but into the country of them who had fed the swine. to men facing fear and death. T. H. Huxley, in his Essays upon some Controverted Questions (1892), made merry over the escapade of the Gadarene swine, running the seven miles between Gadar and the lake of Galilee, crossing the deep river Yarmuk en route. A crowd had come to see what had happened for themselves. They were willing to post guards and chain and shackle their neighbor to keep him from hurting someone. xx. They were not looked upon as necessarily evil in all cases. A friend of mine told me later that two students were attempting to cast a demon out of a fellow. Where it falls apart for me is why the Bellonas, knowing that only one person is allowed to survive each duel, take the defeat so personally. December 2014 Why did the demon-possessed Gadarene bow down before Jesus? July 2021 The occult and every front for demonic influence and activity should be avoided like the plague. Some today have given demons far more than their due by blaming demons for every malady of mankind. No matter who you are. Although demon-possession after that time no longer occurs on such a devastating and noticeable scale, the absolute form of demon-possession will appear at the end of the age in the Antichrist and in his followers (2 Thess. Is there any archaeological evidence for Joshua entering Israel and conquering cities in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age? And, lastly, this would allow sufficient time for those miracles which took place on that second day in Capernaum after His return thither. Men in their unbelief suppose that the choice is either to be free (independent of God) or to be the slaves of Christ. As Jesus began to get back into the boat, the delivered demoniac pleaded with Him that he might accompany Him. Commentator R. C. H. Lenski states: The distance of these cities from the lake is immaterial for the narrative since this deals with the region that is near the lake and not with the vicinity of either of the cities to the lake.. He was a totally safe Person. art thou come hither to torment us before the time? Their influence and control leads to untold agony and destruction. November 2022 At the side of Kersa the shore is level, and there are no tombs. "Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear." (Luke 8:37a) Fear plagues us. (1) Severe personality change. They had been unable to control these two men [Luke only mentions one man, but Matthew tells us there were two]. 14ff. Some appeared not to be oppressed by them so much as exploiting their powers (cf. Like it or not, demons and demonic activity are likely to become much more of a concern to you in days to come. Ouija boards are found in many American homes. Embedded into both stories are people who were afraid of Jesus. Have you even been in a service where the Spirit of God was moving and felt fear? Those possessed are depicted throughout as unfortunate sufferers who by no fault of their own are dominated by evil spirits and who, when the spirits are cast out by Jesus, accept their deliverance with joy and gratitude (Mark v. 18-20, Luke viii. We should know from other Scriptures that our present spiritual experience is one of spiritual warfare. So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine . (3) Spiritual insight. Neither is it only a kind of physical disease, although spiritual and physical disease often accompany it (e.g. Jesus showed to the local population the inferiority of pagan life. In addition, Matthew includes the comment, Have You come here to torment us before the time? (Matthew 8:29). But let us return to the gist of the matter: if Christ showed them His Divinity through the reason given above, is it easy to be in the presence of God? The drowning of the swine was an accident, possibly simultaneous with the healing, and report mixed up the two incidents. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? (3) Our Lord was moved with compassion by the torment of Legion and the loss of these pigs should in no way dim our view of the deliverance of the demoniac. Evil is self-defeating in the end. Jesus asked a sick man if he wanted to get well. Matthew 12:43-45). All Scripture agrees with this, that the judgment of the angels is yet to come (1 Cor. According to another theory, the Chapati movement of 1857 was an attempt to prevent a cholera outbreak in central India. More than this, however, is the fact that the mans own identity and individuality were swallowed up by the demons with him. iv. 120 The request is in both cases the same; for, according to Jewish notions, certain countries being assigned to evil as well as to good spirits, whose limits they were unable to overpass, to be sent out of their own country, no other being open to them, implied being sent into the abyss, or bottomless pit, since that remains for them alone. Trench, Miracles , p. 101. Jesus had freed the man and for a reason known only to Himself, He had granted the demons request to go into a nearby herd of pigs rather than go into the Abyss [bottomless pit]. Luke 8:26-39 Mark 5:1-20 ESV - 1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. What about us, as Christians, are we afraid of Jesus? The region was not poor or economically depressed. If it is a feminine spirit, the voice will be a feminine one, if masculine then very manly. Its ruins include two amphitheaters, a basilica, temple, a hippodrome, aqueducts and colonnades, showing its importance and stature. Accordingly this was not merely an ordinary form of mental disease as some writers have alleged, but a special phenomenon which was particularly frequent during Jesus earthly sojourn and thus was directly connected with His coming to destroy the power of darkness. However, the point was clearly made; Jesus, the Son of God, has power over all things, including the powers of darkness. Although it is likely that the larger towns of Galilee were predominantly Gentile, as was the Decapolis, the first-century civilian diet did not . So they refer to Gerasenes. Why did Jesus have the authority to forgive sins, why did the scribes take it as a blasphemy, and was this authority also given to men in general? The capital of the region was Gerasa, and the largest city in the region was Gadera. Significantly, the demons are called unclean spirits (verse 2,9). NEW STAR WARS MERCH PAGE: https://bit.ly/3baWVZv For all sponsorship and business inquiries please contact: thestupendousscrub@gmail.com NEW CHANNEL: https:/. ii. 0 Responses 125 This is the position of Lane, Mark, p. 187. The region and polygon don't match. This was a federation of ten cities (deka = ten, polis = city). Crazy question or.? 2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. Dr. Thomson discovered on the eastern shore the ruins of a village called Khersa. He said unexpected things and lived by a high ethical standard.